China Focus

BUILDING ON TRADITION

By Dr CS Lim

I often share this view: design must
be built on a people’s cultures and
traditions. I think most would agree
with this view. Of course, there will be
some who will differ.

While in agreement, the common belief is
that it cannot be practiced in China, at least
for now. The most direct reason often given
is that customers do not like such designs
- the customers like “European-American”
designs. In reality, these so-called European-
American designs are Chinese interpretations
of European and American designs.

Another reason is the interference of the factory
bosses. Although they are not trained in design
and often with little formal education, they like
to influence their designers and meddle with
the design process. Factory owners believe
they are close to the market and understand
the needs of the customers. They also believe
in gearing designs towards products of other
companies that are selling well. What about
traditional culture? These bosses do not
understand nor do not want to understand!

Under the circumstances of market economy,
those designers who agree with me are unable
to do much either.

Some of those who do not agree with my point
of view feel that:
• Design ar e without bor dersl
• Modern people do not accept traditional
culturel
• We should lear n good for eign designsl
• The facade of our buildings are mostly
European- and American-styled, and so are
the decoration. As such the furniture design
should match them.
• There is nothing good in our tradition

As such there are some designers who think
that my point of view is too narrow, and even
some pedantic. These designers are very keen
on Nordic and Italian designs, going for their
“pilgrimage” in Milan to worship and come
home bragging about the greatness. However,
I have always believed that these are foreign
which belong to other people. No matter how
much you praise and imitate, you can never be
as good.

This self-imposed “weakness” has a long
history. It started during the May Fourth
Movement, when China abandoned all
traditions, with the belief that our ancestors are inferior in every aspect. Therefore the
eagerness to learn from the “foreign teachers”.
This happened in philosophy, politics and so
on.

In the furniture domain, it happened during
1911-1949, with the introduction of the socalled
“Republic-styled furniture”. The Chinese
people were desperately trying to imitate
Western furniture. There were foreigners
who brought drawings to allow the Chinese
people to copy. Materials used were largely
redwood such as rosewood and ebony. The
carving methods were still Chinese style with
many lines, patterns. It was a poor imitation
producing “hybrid” products, which became
the characteristics of the “Republic-styled
furniture”. There were two broad categories:
• Predominantly Western with Chinese
elements
• Predominantly Chinese with Western
elements

Such hybrid designs have blossomed once
again with the opening of the Chinese economy.
However, now even the Chinese element has
even been done away with. The current hybrid
is to start with Italian and end with Spanish.
I believe one cannot produce first class with
such a foreign hybrid. If you do not believe, just
look at Youyou Tu, a Chinese who had won the
Nobel Prize in medicine. There were all kinds of
talk regarding Tu Youyou’s winning. She did not
have a PhD; she is not an academician; she did
not study abroad nor even understand English.
However, she took the right path focusing solely
on the study of Chinese traditional medicine.
She first gathered more than two thousand
kinds of traditional prescriptions, screened
them and adopted modern means of extraction
which helped her to finally developed antimalarial
medicine.

Her path, and also the way for our designers,
is the direction and way forward for many other
disciplines. This is a living example that only
by building on our traditions and cultures can
we generate first-class results. If our designers
still subscribe to the old thinking, we will never
excel. And we will carry on going to Italy to be
criticized.

DR LIM CHEOK SIN
President, Council
of Asian Furniture
Associations
Professor, Beijing
forestry University
, currently the
Chairman of the
Council of Asian
Furniture Association
(CAFA). He read at
Nanyang University
in Singapore and
completed his PHD
at Beijing University
of Forestry. He holds
a Post Doctorate
from Michigan State
University and is a
visiting scholar there.
Dr Lim has been active
in the Singapore
furniture industry,
chairing both the
Singapore Furniture
Association and
Furniture Association
of Asia and Pacific
previously.

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